12.  Public sector comparator requirements

The public sector comparator (PSC) is developed to a preliminary stage in the business case phase. It is developed in detail in the project development phase, and should be finalised prior to release of the Request for Proposal.

The PSC is to be approved by government at project approval or, at the latest, prior to the release of the request for proposal document. Any subsequent material changes must also be approved.

The raw (non-risk adjusted) PSC figure (together with high level assumptions) is to be disclosed in the request for proposal unless there are justifiable reasons for non-disclosure. This is to enable bidders to clarify whether their concept of project scope is similar to that of government. The PSC will be subject to detailed analysis by the market and it must therefore have a robust development process.

The risk adjusted PSC (either in periodic cash flow or NPC form), excluding retained risk, is to be disclosed, following assessment on a project-by-project basis, as part of the value for money comparison in the project summary published post contract execution (refer to Section 19 of these requirements).

Roles in the development of the PSC

Primary responsibility for the construction and use of the PSC rests with the procuring agency, in particular the development of the output specification and reference project.

DTF may be involved in assisting with the development of preliminary costing of the main PSC components. DTF will review the first preliminary PSC as part of the business case and will review the final PSC when government approval is sought prior to the release of the RFP to bidders.

The construction of a PSC requires a high level of specialist skills that will generally require the engagement of external expert advisers.

For a set of Frequently Asked Questions and Common Problems regarding the PSC please refer to Annexure 6.